


Dreaming About the Things That We Could Be

by WebbedUpKatanas



Category: Ultimate Spider-Man (Cartoon)
Genre: Fluff, Just a lot of gross mush, M/M, Snuggling and Kissing, That's about it tbh
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-13
Updated: 2015-06-13
Packaged: 2018-04-04 04:40:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,046
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4125798
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WebbedUpKatanas/pseuds/WebbedUpKatanas
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After the events of the Guardians of the Galaxy episode Sam decides to stay in space and search for his dad. Now, after four years, he's back and ready to hunt down his old friends. Starting with a certain Spider just seems logical right?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Dreaming About the Things That We Could Be

**Author's Note:**

  * For [kira892](https://archiveofourown.org/users/kira892/gifts).



The first time Sam sets foot in New York in four years the first thing he does is grab a pizza.

Sam has seen the universe, and it’s a spectacular place, full of more wonders than anyone on Earth could possibly imagine. The sights, sounds and tastes of the alien worlds that Sam has visited are euphoric and dazzling and amazing enough to make anyone’s head spin. He’s experienced more spectacular things in these past four years than he ever could have imagined in his life, but damn nothing in the whole universe can compare to pizza.

“I miffed p'zza s'much,” he sighs happily around a mouthful of cheesy goodness. A woman on the street gives him a look, but Sam really really doesn’t care right now. It’s been so long, since he’s walked on human streets or even seen actual humans besides Star-Lord (who he’s pretty sure isn’t entirely human, but hey that’s a whole other story). It’s kind of weird to look around the streets he used to know and see them teeming with people so similar and yet so different from when he left them.

He’s a little baffled by how much fashion has changed honestly, and the fact that they have new taxis here now apparently. His old favourite coffee place, the one he used to go to with MJ to talk about life, has closed and so has the burger place where he used to get into mini fly-flinging battles with Peter while Ava rolled her eyes at their antics. That’s not to mention the advertisements on every billboard. Some of them are familiar but others advertise things he’s never heard of, and then there are some that are just downright weird. (Avengers Assemble: The Musical??? He bets his old team has a lot of jokes to make about that one).

Still, it feels amazing to be home. Well… not home home, but he’s already been to Arizona. Already got to see his mom and dad together again. To hear his sister screaming excitedly, running over and hugging him before she ran to their dad. They’d all hugged, a tangled mess of laughter and tears and joy, and then spent the day all together on one tiny worn out couch. Sam had found it sort of surreal, being able to join in with his dad for the first time in telling the tales from space that had marked his childhood.

The next day he had left, feeling a little guilty that he couldn’t spend more time with his family. But there had been an uneasiness pulling at him, a pull in his bones to go back to the place and the team he had left behind. His mom had been tearful but understanding, giving him a hug while Kaelynn clung around his middle, completely unwilling to let go.

“I gotta go Kae. I haven’t heard anything about my team in three years. Gotta make sure they didn’t get their butts kicked without me there to save them,” he tells her, still amazed at how tall she is now. He barely even has to bend down to give her a proper hug. God, she’s ten already. Sam had never really realized before how four little years could change so much.

He really is kind of worried. Not because he doesn’t think his team can take care of themselves. He’s sure they’re fine, he’s just… not sure of much else. Are they still together? Will they be happy to see him or pissed he ran off? He’s sure Peter must have explained why he left but…

Speaking of Peter, the Webhead is the obvious place to start. Finding SHIELD could turn out to be a very literal pain in his ass if they didn’t want him to, but he figures aunt May will be just as overjoyed to see him as he will be to see her. And knowing Parker the nerd probably still lives at home right?

He really hopes so.

Out in space he’s had a lot of time to think, and a lot of time to think also means a lot of time to miss the dumb dork.

The house looks a little bit different than when he’d lived here. There’s a new colour of paint, a new garden and a new roof, but the place still gives him a warm rush of nostalgia. He’s missed this house that used to be his home away from home. It was the one place that gave him a sense of normality, a refuge from the endless mechanical hallways of SHIELD that had always felt so cold and clinical. It’s hard to relax when everything about your environment reminds you that you are being watched by super government spies 24/7. At least the Parker house had felt like a real home. Plus he totally knew how to shut off the cameras there.

He’s almost convinced that neither May or Peter live at the house anymore for a while as he stands awkwardly outside the door waiting. He knocks again after what seems like forever, and finally feels a rush of relief as he hears May’s voice calling out from the backyard.

“I’m in the back. Come on through the gate!”

“Hey May, long time no see,” he replies casually as he comes through the gate, only to be met with the sound of gardening tools clattering to the ground as May propels herself towards him to give him what he long ago termed as a ‘big warm Parker hug.’

“Sam! My my, it’s been ages! And you’re still in hot water for not giving me a proper goodbye young man!” she says, her smile and cheerful tone a dead giveaway that the water will be lukewarm at worst. Still, he can’t help but feel a pang of guilt. He really had just up and disappeared on everyone, and yeah it was for a good reason but still… it’s not like he can explain that reason to May.

“Yeah I’m sorry Mrs. P. Did Pete tell you-”

“Of course he did. And I understand. Family is important,” she says, pulling back from their hug and beaming down at him. “But a call from time to time wouldn’t have hurt. We’ve been worried sick about you. Next time you run off make sure you check in with us.”

Huh. We. Sam guesses that means the Webhead has totally missed him too.

“Will do,” he says, finding her smile infectious.

“Good. Now come on inside, you must be starving. I’ve done some work on that old gingersnap recipe since you’ve been gone, I need your expert opinion.”

May leads him into the house, which has changed even more on the inside than the outside. It’s a little bit disorienting to look around the kitchen that is at once so familiar and yet at the same time so different, but the biggest thing that strikes him is the fact that it’s so clean.

“We’ve fixed the place up a bit since you left,” May says, gesturing him towards the living room. “Go on in, make yourself comfy. I’ll grab us some cookies and milk and we can catch up a little.”

Sam wanders in, but gets distracted by the pictures on the wall before he can even make it to the couch. There’s one of Peter in his grad cap which… huh. Sam hadn’t really thought about the fact that he missed high school graduation before. There’s also one of May and Peter taken on the day of graduation, hanging up beside that old photo the team had given Peter for his birthday years ago. On the fireplace there are a few pictures that look like they were taken on a university campus, but May comes through the door trying to balance a plate heaping with cookies and two glasses before he manages to get to those ones.

“Woah here, I got that,” he says, taking the glasses from her and moving to set them on the table.

“Thank you Sam. It’s so good to see you,” she tells him happily. “How many years has it been? Three? Four? So much has happened! I’ll have to get you all caught up.”

“I’ve got nowhere to be,” he says easily, taking a seat and grabbing a cookie. “Mphh s'good!”

“I’ve been adding to the recipe we used that one time. Remember? When all of your friends raved for days. But I’m not sure if I’ve made it better or worse,” she laughs, taking a cookie of her own.

Sam shrugs, chewing happily.

“I haven’t had a cookie in years, this is like the best thing I’ve ever tasted,” he says, before realizing that not having a cookie in years might come off as sort of weird.

“Well then we’ll have to bake some together,” May says, not missing a beat.

He nods, already reaching for another cookie. Man it’s been forever since he used a stove. Cooking and baking wasn’t the kind of thing he had much time for in space. Mostly they had eaten at alien restaurants or eaten gross dehydrated food. The closest he had ever really gotten to making a real meal was roasting weird alien animals over a fire, and one time making a weird sort of stew.

“So… I guess Pete isn’t home?” he asks after a pause. “I mean there are no weird sciency sounds coming from the basement, and there’s no dumb music playing upstairs, plus the house is spotless so…”

May laughs at that, shaking her head fondly.

“That boy certainly is a mess isn’t he?” she says, glancing over at his picture on the wall with a smile. “No, he’s not here. He’s away studying at Empire State,” she adds, the glowing pride clear in her voice.

“Of course he is, the science nerd,” he says, finding that his own tone is much the same.

“Yes, he’s doing quite well for himself too. He lives a little ways out of the city since it’s all he can afford, but I really don’t know how that boy juggles everything along with a commute.”

Sam figures web-swinging probably helps out with that… but again not something he can tell May.

“So is he living with anyone?” Sam asks as casually as he can.

“He lives alone,” May tells him with a smile. Something about the way she’s looking at him is just a little too knowing for his liking, but that’s how his mom is too. It’s part of the reason he’d always liked May so much.

“Cool cool. Wouldn’t wanna disturb a roomie or something,” he says, stuffing the entire last half of his cookie into his mouth.

“Especially not if you plan on flying there,” May says, so calmly that it takes a second for the meaning of her words to sink in. When they do Sam promptly chokes on his cookie.

“Fly? What uh…I mean… what do you um…” he splutters between coughs as aunt May pats his back and offers him a sip of milk.

“Peter told me he was Spider-Man about a year ago,” May tells him, grinning widely at Sam’s shocked expression. “Which was about three years after I figured it out on my own.”

“You knew!?”

“Of course. Well… at first I thought he might be hiding a secret boyfriend and was too afraid to tell me he was gay, but after he came out to me as bisexual in his second year of high school I had to reevaluate that,” she laughs, as Sam stares at her, open mouthed and completely thrown. “But there were an awful lot of hints. It wasn’t hard to put it together.”

May knew Peter was Spider-Man. She’d always known? They were always so careful, always sneaking around and it was all for nothing. He can’t believe that Peter used to make them race her home and…wait… Peter is bi?!

“That… okay,” he says, more than a little stunned.

“Of course the moment he asked you four to come stay with us right after that awful Helicarrier crash I knew that you must be his teammates. It didn’t take long to figure out who was who.”

Huh. Okay then.

“Wow. Pete must have been so mad,” Sam laughs, imagining the look on Peter’s face when he found out. “He always tried so hard to keep it a secret.”

“He did, bless his heart,” she says, that same fond smile she always has when she talks about Peter spreading across her face. It used to drive him a little crazy but… well okay now he kinda gets it. Parker grows on you. He’s like a mold that way.

“So, now that all that’s out of the way there’s nothing keeping you from telling me all about your adventures,” May says cheerfully, and Sam feels a little spark of excitement. Oh man telling May about space is going to be amazing. Especially because he’d actually used things she had taught him on their adventures together to get out of a tight spot or two.

“Hell- I mean uh… heck yeah,” he says, settling back on the couch, and grinning ear to ear.

May smiles back, and Sam can’t help thinking that finally there’s at least one Parker who is willing to listen to him.

……….

He stays at May’s for a few hours, even accepting her invitation to have dinner when they both realize how long they’ve been talking.

“Say hi to Peter for me. Tell him to come visit,” she says, handing Sam a lemon square for the road.

“I will. Thanks again May,” he says, putting on his helmet. It feels weird and kind of wrong to have it out in front of her, but her impressed reaction to the way his uniform forms around him is totally worth it.

“And you come back and visit too,” she adds, tugging him into a tight hug. “You can take the girls and I skateboarding again.”

Sam feels light as a feather as he flies over the bright lights of New York City, Peter’s address programed into his helmet. He wonders how Peter will react seeing him. Probably with some snarky comment he thinks with a snort. Still, he’s missed Peter’s snark. It’ll be good to see him.

He gets a little bit lost on his way, and by the time he finds the place it’s late enough that he wonders if it’s still a good idea to visit. After all Peter might have classes in the morning…

On the other hand, Sam decides he really doesn’t care. Peter can make time for him, and if he wakes the dork up at least it will be kinda funny.

It turns out he needn’t have worried.

When he finds the house Peter is on the roof, sitting there in full Spider-Man costume with his mask in his hand staring up at the sky. For a second Sam is worried that someone will see him, but Peter is good at keeping his secret identity secret. It’s so late and they are removed enough from the city that Sam figures no one will be out spying on nerdy dude’s on their rooftops.

Sam smirks staying a little bit back out of sight as a plan forms in his mind.

What’s better than greeting your old pal with a bit of a sneak attack right? And maybe since he doesn’t actually plan to hurt him he won’t set off his Spidey Sense? Either way Sam is going to try.

He flies around to the side of the house, out of Peter’s light of sight but close enough that he can really study his friend and see how much he’s changed.

Peter looks… older. Which Sam should have expected, but it’s still really weird. He looks a little bit more built than Sam remembers (which isn’t fair since he’d already had a pretty killer six pack. Now he just has the arms to match) and he’s cut his hair into a slightly less offensive style than it used to be. Thankfully he doesn’t seem to have gotten any taller, and there’s no facial hair or anything for Sam to be jealous about, so he can at least rest easy knowing that.

He can’t really see much, just the side of his face mostly, but it’s enough for him to feel… well… whatever it was he used to feel around Peter again. Not the annoyed thing but… the other feeling. Whatever it was.

He hovers there for a second, just taking in how familiar the way Peter is sitting is and how weird it is to see him again before deciding that he should probably stop hanging around in the shadows like a creep and stage his attack.

“Hey Sam,” Pete says, and Sam freezes mid air.

What the hell?

Has Peter developed some kind of weird spider eyes in the back of his head? Is he psychic now? Was Sam breathing too loud? There’s no possible way the Webhead could have figured out he was here unless something really weird had gone down while Sam was gone.

“It’s been a hell of a day. You’d probably have laughed if you were there,” Peter doesn’t turn around, he just keeps staring up at the sky, his mask still held in his hand. “No scratch that, I know you. You’d definitely have laughed. You know how I know? Because I totally managed to get pantsed again. I was kinda starting to think that was only something that happened back when we were teenagers and you were around to take pictures of it. But no… apparently it’s still a thing.”

Sam almost laughs, but he’s still frozen in confusion, hovering just out of sight as Peter rambles on and on about the villain he fought today. He sounds exactly as Sam remembers, except that his voice is a little deeper, a little more worn. He still has the same inflections though, the same dry delivery of his more sarcastic points, and the unbridled gleeful tone Sam remembers every time he makes a pun or terrible quip.

“Anyways, I saved the little girl so that’s all that matters right? We should probably pay attention to that and not my tuchas on the news and Jameson calling me a pervert and exhibitionist. Although I bet that’s what you’d focus on if you were here,” Peter says and Sam is almost knocked out of the sky with the force of his realization.

Peter doesn’t even know he’s here.

Peter sits on his roof, who knows how often, and just… talks to the stars. Like they’re Sam.

Sam doesn’t know what to do with this. He doesn’t know how to react, but tackling Peter and tickling him to death is definitely out of the question now.

God, it’s been four years and Peter still misses him enough that he takes the time to tell the night sky about his day. He had honestly expected Peter to have half forgotten about him by now. Like a childhood friend you’re still fond of but have no real motivation to actually hunt down. And yet here Peter is… still hung up on whatever they had. Their weird rivalry/friendship/something else was clearly more important to Peter than he had thought.

Sam can barely breathe, wondering how many day’s events he’s missed. How many tears and smiles and victories and failures and secrets had Peter told the dark expanse of the sky while Sam has been in space?

Silently he floats backwards away from the figure on the roof, suddenly feeling like he’s intruding even though the words are meant for him. He’ll use the door instead, and save them both some embarrassment. Because yeah… awkward. Sam’s not gonna interrupt and have to explain why he was eavesdropping on Peter’s conversation with… him.

He floats down to the door and stands there for a second, just staring at the wood silently. 

Okay.

He’s gonna knock.

He’s definitely gonna knock. Just… in a second.

Because wow… yeah this is gonna be Pete. Pete who he hasn’t seen in forever, even though he’s obviously still a dork. And knowing the Webhead, he’s probably gonna get yelled at for being gone so long or not checking in or…

Sam swallows, rubbing his sweaty hands on the pants of his suit. This has the potential to be more uncomfortable and awful than his encounter with the Glorbbeast after Rocket had disturbed its slime nest.

With a shrug he knocks, figuring that at the very least Peter won’t spray him with acrid smelling goop that doesn’t wash off for days.

It takes Pete a while to get to the door, but when he does appear he looks a little panicked, and Sam realizes a little guiltily that most knocks at the door that come after midnight aren’t good news.

Peter’s eyes widen as he takes in the sight of Sam standing in his doorway with his arms spread wide and a wide grin on his face. He doesn’t say anything for a second, and Sam starts to feel a bit fidgety under his silent gaze.

“Uh hi?”

“Sam!” Peter flings himself at him so suddenly that Sam almost topples over, just barely managing to stay upright as Peter’s arms close around him. “Dude, you’re still so short!”

“Wow, good to see you haven’t changed at all Spidey,” Sam says, wincing at how tightly Peter is holding him. Thankfully Peter seems to realize a second later, loosening his grip but not letting go entirely. Peter laughs a little, and Sam can’t help himself. He wraps his arms around Peter and hugs back as tight as he can.

It takes him a couple of seconds to realize that his shoulder is getting wet, and a few more seconds after that to realize why it’s happening.

“Uh Pete are you-?”

“Sorry,” Peter pulls back finally, wiping at his eyes. “Must be some space pollen on your suit or something.”

“Uh huh,” Sam grins at him, noticing that they’re still standing there holding each other’s arms.

“Or you know… could be the fact that it’s been four years and I kinda never thought I’d see you again.” Peter is beaming at him, giving him a look from head to toe as if he still can’t believe that Sam is actually here with him. It makes Sam feel sort of guilty. He’d kind of figured everyone would miss him yeah, but he couldn’t have imagined that they… that Peter… would miss him this much.

“So… can I come in or do you want me to freeze to death on your front step?” he asks, feeling a little bit choked up himself.

“You’ve been in the icy vacuum of space you complete dork,” Peter laughs, moving aside and gesturing Sam through the door.

“Yeah but I’m always-”

“You’re always cold. I know,” Peter leads him through the front hall, and okay, Pete’s place is kind of a dump. The hall is tight enough that they have to walk single file, and two closed doors lead to what Sam assumes must be other apartments. The threadbare red carpeting extends all the way up the stairs that creak as Peter leads him up them to another little hallway with a room on either side. Peter’s door is, at the very least, slightly less gray than the one on the other side though. That’s something.

The apartment itself is so small that it’s sort of hilarious in hindsight that he ever thought Peter might be living with someone. The tiny living room/kitchen combo is so tiny that it’s a wonder Peter even fits in it. There are two other rooms off to the side which must be his bathroom and bedroom, and he finds himself wondering if those are just as small, if not smaller.

“What do you think? Pretty awesome right? Everyone I know is jealous because I’m the only one who can afford a place this nice,” Peter boasts, and Sam is really surprised to find that the words don’t make him feel like blasting the smug dork. Mostly he just thinks it’s kind of precious how proud he is.

“It’s uh… good,” he says, taking off his helmet and letting the glow disperse around him along with his Nova uniform.

The corners of Peter’s mouth twitch upwards and he gives Sam a knowing look. “You hate it don’t you?”

Sam shrugs and grins at him.

“I knew you would. Wait until you see Luke and Ava’s place though, you’ll think this is a palace compared to that.” Peter pauses, his brow furrowing slightly. “Unless of course you’ve already seen it.”

“Nah you’re the first person I’ve seen. Except May of course,” Sam says with a shrug. Those words make Peter beam at him so brightly that it leaves him feeling a little bit off balance. Was it always this easy to make Parker smile?

“Cool. So where are you staying then?” Peter asks, gesturing Sam towards the couch before wandering to the tiny kitchen and opening the fridge.

“Uh… that’s a good question. I guess I’m gonna find a hotel or something,” Sam says, realizing suddenly that he hadn’t planned that far ahead. “I could probably fly home in like a few hours…”

“Dude, no way. You can stay here tonight!” Peter protests, not even giving Sam a chance to answer before he changes the subject. “You want anything to drink? I have water, uh I think I have a bottle of flat coke in here… juice, beer…”

“Hold on wait wait,” all thoughts of protest leave Sam’s head as Peter looks up at him curiously. “You drink. Really Webs? You?”

Peter chuckles, his head still peeking up out of the fridge. “What? I’m twenty one Sparky. It’s been forever since you went all rocket man and disappeared into space, you really didn’t think I’d never drink in my life?”

Sam blinks. Honestly with the easy familiarity they’d fallen back into and the way that Peter seems to have barely changed he had almost forgotten that there are not four years of missed experiences between them.

“Nope. You’re such a dork I figured you’d go out to bars and order milk,” he replies, smirking over at Pete as he shakes his head and then buries it back in the fridge.

“Just for that you don’t get any of my booze, which I pretty much only keep for guests by the way. You get the flat coke.”

He brings over a can instead which is better, but Sam totally forgets that shaking those up before giving them to people is a thing on earth, and ends up with coke all over his face.

“Dude,” he says, displeased, drops of pop dripping down off of the tip of his nose. Peter bursts into laughter, sliding down onto the couch beside him as he cackles with glee.

“Oh my god Bucket-Head I can’t believe you fell for that!”

Sam glares unhappily and then leans in the small distance between them to wipe his face off on Peter’s costume.

“Hey! No! I just washed this!” Peter says, struggling pitifully to get away. He doesn’t really try too hard though since Sam knows for a fact he could dead-lift him with no problem and yet here he remains trapped by Sam’s weight alone.

“Really? You actually wash your costume now? 'Cuz it sure doesn’t smell like it,” he responds, pulling back to pull a face now that he feels relatively less sticky.

Honestly? Peter doesn’t smell bad at all. A little like sweat, but mostly like Peter, and something kind of woodsy that has to be his deodorant or cologne or something. It smells good. It smells weirdly like home, but he sure as hell isn’t gonna tell the web-swinger that.

“Wow I think space actually made you more rude, how is that even possible?” Peter grins at him, nudging him with his knee.

“Nah I’ve just been saving it all up for you Bug Breath,” he tells him, taking a sip of what’s left of his Coke. “Ugh this is way fizzier than I remember it.”

“Yeah well… you’re pretty different than how I remember you too,” Peter says, looking him over. He’s smiling, but it’s not a smirk, so Sam figures he’s probably not making fun of him, but he doesn’t really know how to respond to that.

“Uh… well I mean you’re still a scrawny nerd and all but… you too I guess.”

Peter’s smile just gets brighter, and he leans his shoulder against Sam’s making him feel just a little bit warmer. He realizes there isn’t any of the awkwardness he had half worried would build up between them after not seeing each other for years. He just feels happy and really comfortable. And really sleepy.

“My company tire you out already Bucket-Head?” Peter asks as Sam tries to stifle a yawn.

“Been tired since I first saw your face Webs,” he responds easily, leaning his head back against the couch. “Plus your aunt talked my ear off for like six hours today. Man I missed her.”

“You are not allowed to steal my aunt again,” Peter warns him good naturedly. “Oh but hey, that reminds me, did you find your dad?”

“Oh dude yeah!” he perks up a little, lifting his head to look at Peter’s pleased face. “He’s home now with mom and Kae.”

“Knew you could do it,” Peter laughs, looking pleased and kinda proud. It’s a weird look to have directed at him from Peter. It reminds him of the glow he used to feel whenever Peter would praise him for doing something awesome in training or in battle.

“You’re just saying that now because I did it already,” he scoffs, turning his face away to hide his smile.

“No way dude, I’m a regular Belief Hipster. I believed in you before it was cool,” Peter snickers before rolling his eyes when Sam’s response is cut off by another yawn. “That’s it. Bed time. You can tell me all about your cool space adventures tomorrow. Uh… you are planning on staying for a while tomorrow right?”

“Yeah, gotta annoy you a ton more before I’m satisfied,” Sam sighs as Peter gets up and moves towards a closet. He tosses a blanket and pillow at Sam, both of them hitting him in the face.

“Glad to hear it,” Peter says, grinning as Sam glares at him from over the pillow. “I’ll get you some pjs.”

Sam raises an eyebrow when Peter comes back in and tosses pajama pants with little spaceships on them his way, but doesn’t bother to comment. The shirt Peter gives him is an old very soft black tee with a red Spider-Man logo on the chest.

“Nice,” he says, and Peter shrugs at him in response.

“Talk to MJ and Gwen about the shirt, they think it’s funny.” Peter blinks and then grins. “Oh wait you haven’t met Gwen yet. Oh man she’s fantastic! Except… oh man this is totally gonna end up as a three against Peter situation I can already tell,” he says dejectedly, his smile fading slightly at the edges as Sam beams.

“Dude anyone who makes you go from excited to freaked out that fast is my kind of person,” Sam says, pulling his shirt off and tossing it on the floor.

“Yeah, I kinda figured. Well… g'night Sam,” Peter says, shifting from foot to foot in the doorway and glancing sort of awkwardly up at the ceiling.

“Night Webs,” he mutters back, kicking off his pants and pulling on Peter’s, which are still too big on him despite his time away. Ugh, that’s annoying.

Peter turns to go into his bedroom but pauses, turning back just as Sam finishes pulling up the pants and snuggling up under the blanket.

“Hey uh… I’m really glad you’re back,” he says, his smile as soft as the light from his bedroom illuminating him from behind.

“Glad to be back,” Sam replies, aiming for a light tone. Peter’s words leave a feeling like the glow of the Nova force in his chest, and it’s hard to bite back his smile.

“Sweet dreams Bucket Brains.”

……….

Sam really had meant to only stay there that night but… well of course he had to catch up with the rest of the team, most of who surprisingly still lived in New York. And even Danny had popped in from K'un Lun using something he called 'astral travel’. Peter and Sam had giggled under their breath at that for four minutes after Peter had whispered ass-tral in his ear. Then Ava had slapped them both across the head.

Really, Sam thinks, it’s good to know that none of them have changed that much now that they’re in their early twenties.

Then of course Peter had insisted on taking him to see the stupid Avengers musical, which had been exactly as cheesy as Sam expected. It was pretty fantastic to sit there with most of his old team and make fun of it with them though, and he’d be lying if he said the songs weren’t catchy. Then Peter wanted him to come to his campus at ESU and… yeah that hadn’t actually been entirely great because Peter’s classes were booooring. But the campus itself was pretty nice and getting dragged to 'the best coffee place’ and 'the coolest campus pub’ and the 'nicest picnic spot I swear it’s never even that busy’ wasn’t bad at all. Didn’t mean he hadn’t complained just to piss Peter off though.

After that it seemed like every day there was a new excuse to stay. Video games to catch up on, movies that he’d missed in the four years that he just had to watch, restaurants that Peter was 100% sure he’d fall in love with, and exhibits at museums that Sam had actually really enjoyed. Plus it turns out one thing that is definitely different about Peter is that he finally wants to listen to Sam’s stories about space.

Every night they sit out on the same roof Sam had first caught sight of Peter on and talk about their adventures under the weak light of the few stars that manage to show their light this close to the edge of the city.

“So there’s these gashes all across my chest, and he’s leaning over me with that villain look of triumph, you know the one where they think they have you beat? And I look him in the eyes and go 'Aww c'mon, I know I’m too sexy for my shirt but you really should ask a guy before you go ripping off his clothes like that.'” Peter says, halfway through a story about a battle that took place sometime in the middle of Sam’s absence. They are working their way through the time spent apart, giving each other a rundown of the highest and lowest points, which has led to some intense moments, but also nights of raucous laughter hard enough to make their ribs hurt.

Sam snorts, nudging Peter lightly, which doesn’t take much effort given that Sam is sprawled almost on his lap, which his back pressed up against Peter’s side. If they moved ever so slightly Peter could put his arm around him and it would be way more comfortable…

Sam shakes his head a little to dispel the thought. The longer he lives with Parker the more these thoughts have been popping into his head, and he’s kinda starting to wonder if he’s going crazy because really? Parker?

Well… okay, it’s not like he never thought about it in the four years he was in space. Or, if he’s being completely honest, even before he left. Back when they were younger and stupider he had always figured one day they’d maybe kiss or something while fighting about video games, if only to shut each other up. Because there had always been this like… spark between them. And he knows spark sounds stupid, but that’s what it had felt like.

And if it was a spark back then, now it’s a full on flame.

After all they’ve been spending their days having what pretty much sum up to dates together, and spending their nights bickering over whether to make dinner or order in, or maybe even go out. And they curl close to each other on instinct now, with a level of easy familiarity that Sam knows they never had back in high school. And that’s not to mention the nights spent under the stars, with the memory of Peter sitting here talking to him while he was gone and the nagging question of how many nights just like tonight he’d done that always at the back of Sam’s brain.

“You did not say that you nerd,” he says, knowing full well that Peter is the king of stupid quips. “I’m surprised he didn’t kill you dude.”

“Oh he tried,” Peter assures him. “He just wasn’t fast enough.”

“Yeah I guess you always were a quick little bug,” Sam says, elbowing him lightly.

“Four years in space to think about it and he still doesn’t use the word arachnid,” Peter laughs, and then he’s shifting to get more comfortable and Sam suddenly finds an arm draped very loosely over his shoulder.

“Anyways, that’s how I got the scars on my chest,” Peter says like nothing is happening, and Sam figures maybe this is normal. Pete had seemed pretty touchy feely with all of his other friends too, and this is more comfortable than before.

That doesn’t change the way Sam’s heart is beating nearly out of his chest, or the way he really really hopes this is something more.

“At least they look kinda badass. Not as cool as mine, but I guess we can’t all be as awesome as me.”

Peter laughs, and it’s always been a pretty alright sound, but feeling it rumble through his chest is even nicer.

“Yeah okay Sam,” he snorts. “I’m sure your scar from the tiny space worm is waaaaay cooler.”

“The worm was a threat to cosmic safety okay? Just because it was only two inches long doesn’t mean- stop laughing!!” Sam elbows Peter again, fairly hard this time, but all that does is make the asshole laugh even louder.

“You are the worst,” Sam tells him, struggling against Peter’s grip around him, but not hard enough to actually get free.

Peter grins at him, squeezing him tighter. “You love it.”

“Pfft, do not,” Sam says, hoping the darkness is enough to cover his blush. “I just put up with you because you let me stay here for free.”

“Well, it’s kinda like you’re the long lost family pet. Sure it sort of stinks and it makes a mess, but you just can’t bring yourself to get rid of it now that it’s back.”

Sam squirms in Peter’s grip, turning his face up towards him to treat him to the full brunt of his glare.

“Hate you,” he says, already feeling his anger melt at the happy look on Peter’s face. Something about the way his expression softens at the words makes Sam squirm uncomfortably, torn between maintaining eye contact and feigning fascination with the stars just to have an excuse to look away.

“Yeah,” Peter says quietly, suddenly looking a little bit nervous. “I hate you too.”

Then suddenly Sam is holding his breath, his eyes going wide as Peter starts to lean in.

He moves slowly, giving Sam plenty of time to realize exactly what’s about to happen, and stop him if he wants to.

Sam really doesn’t want to stop him, because oh my god. Peter Parker is going to kiss him.

His eyes stay open just long enough to see Peter’s close. Then he feels the gentle press of Pete’s lips just barely touching his, so warm and close-

A loud beeping pierces the quiet night and Sam lurches back in shock, trying hard not to laugh when Peter jumps too, looking just as startled as Sam feels.

“Shit,” Peter laughs ruefully, lifting his wrist to his face. In the gentle glow of his com Sam can see that his cheeks are bright red. “This had better be something good.”

“It must be your lucky day because I’m going to choose to ignore that comment,” Fury’s voice comes from the com. “We need you in Time’s Square Spider-Man. The Sinister Six are attacking and your team is just barely holding them off.”

“Could they have picked a worse time? Seriously it’s like the villains in this town don’t want me to have a love life,” Peter whines, and Sam feels his heart flutter a little in his chest at the words.

“Doc Ock doesn’t care about your love life and neither do I. Just get here Parker. Bring Alexander with you, we could use his help. Fury out.”

Sam blinks.

“Uh… how did he know I was here?”

“Fury just kind of knows these things,” Peter shrugs, already taking his shirt off to reveal red and blue spandex underneath. “You uh, you want to come with?”

“Duh,” Sam replies, standing up carefully. He doesn’t exactly have sticking powers to keep him from falling off the roof.

He shifts nervously, not sure if they should talk about what just happened, or what he’d even say if they did. “Just gotta grab my helmet,” he says after an awkward moment where both of them refuse to meet each other’s eyes.

He climbs through the window, cursing himself for wimping out of talking about what just happened. What if Peter chickens out and never tries it again? What if he chickens out and never tries it himself, or even brings it up? What if they spend the rest of their friendship awkwardly not talking about it and avoiding any and all contact? What if-

“I can hear you thinking,” Peter says, making him jump. He spins around, glaring at Peter as he chuckles quietly at him in amusement.

He steps in closer and Sam’s annoyance quickly fades to nervousness instead as Peter scans his expression.

“I… back there on the roof. That was… I mean… if Fury hadn’t interrupted… would you have uh- ugh,” Peter cuts himself off, looking frustrated. “Okay okay, let me start over. Would… would it be okay if I kissed you right now?”

Sam takes two steps forward, grabs the back of Peter’s head, and pulls him in.

That momentary press of lips against lips seems to last less than a blink of an eye, and Sam feels a little stab of disappointment when they both pull back. Still, looking up into Peter’s grinning face he realizes that he’s going to have a lot of opportunities for longer kisses in the future.

Opportunities like right now for instance, because impulse control isn’t something that Sam has a whole bunch of. Peter makes a surprised sound and then kisses back enthusiastically, pulling Sam in closer by his hips. They kiss soft and slow, and so sweet it makes Sam’s toes curl. It’s the kind of kiss he could easily get addicted to. The kind of kiss he really should have expected from Peter who never does things in halves.

“As much as that was good, like… really really good, we kind of have to save the city,” Pete says regretfully when they pull away, their lips lingering against each other for a gentle moment as though neither one of them was ready for the kiss to fully end.

Sam grins, giving him a little shrug before pulling back and moving to grab his helmet off of the table. “Sure thing Parker, but I’m gonna need to do some more of that after we’re done.”

He feels his suit materialize around him as Peter taps his foot in a false display of impatience, though Sam can see the way that his lips keep tugging up into an excited smile without his permission.

“Only if the villains haven’t taken over the world by the time you get changed,” Peter laughs, and then laughs even harder when Sam grabs him around the waist and carries him to the window.

“Relax Webs, I’ll fly us there in less than half the time it’d take you to swing,” Sam tells him, stepping off of the ledge and making sure that he floats an inch above the surface of the roof just to show off.

“Stop showboating then and put your money where your mouth is,” Peter tells him, wrapping his arms around Sam’s neck tightly. “After all, we don’t have all night. I’ve got plans, and those plans involve kissing.”

And with that, Sam takes off, a blue streak against the night sky, ready to face anything this night could throw at him with the knowledge that Peter likes him burning away at the front of his mind.

………..

Sam doesn’t find out the answer to how often Peter talked to him while he was in space until three months after their first kiss.

They’re laying out on the roof like they do most nights, with Sam’s face cradled between Peter’s hands as he kisses him soft and sweet. The stars seem to be shining extra bright tonight, the moon almost full and shedding enough light that Sam can see clearly how red Peter’s cheeks are, how red his lips are, when he pulls back to look at his face.

“Mmm,” Peter hums, his eyes tracing Sam’s face again before he leans in to kiss him deeply again. “It’s a nice night.”

“Shut up and keep kissing me more dorkface,” Sam demands, wiggling in closer and wrapping his arm around Peter’s neck.

They kiss for longer this time and Peter’s hands rubbing little circles against his back before he pulls away, making Sam whine. He doesn’t go far though, still close enough that Sam can feel the tingle of his breath against his lips.

“But just look at all the stars,” Peter protests, his mouth brushing against Sam’s as he speaks. The stupid jerk isn’t even looking at the stars, he’s looking into Sam’s eyes, so he knows he’s doing this just to make Sam complain. “Just because you’ve seen them from space doesn’t mean they aren’t pretty from here too.”

Sam kisses him again, and then again, and runs his fingers through Peter’s hair gently.

“Yeah, they’re nice,” Sam admits, kissing Peter a little bit deeper. “But this is more fun.”

Peter hums in agreement, and seems to give up on talking for a breathless while, which is nice.

“I saw you talking to them. The first night I saw you after I came back,” Sam tells him when they need to breathe again, feeling like maybe it’s okay to open up since they’re already being kind of gross.

Peter blushes, pulling back a little more to look at him.

“Seriously?” he asks, sounding embarrassed. “Well that’s…awkward.”

Sam laughs, giving him a quick peck on the lips to reassure him. “It’s cool dude, it was kinda cute in like… a dorky way. Did you do that a lot while I was gone?”

Peter shrugs, avoiding Sam’s eyes.

“I guess? Whenever something big happened, or on your birthday, or if I just missed you and stuff,” he finally looks back at Sam, only to be greeted by his smug smile. “Which shouldn’t have been that often, I mean just look at all the annoying crap I have to put up with now that you’re back,” he scoffs, making Sam grin wider.

“You love it,” Sam says triumphantly, and doesn’t give Peter the chance to respond before kissing him again hard.

“Nah, but I kinda love you,” Peter says eventually, and the words may be casual but the way they make Sam’s stomach flip is anything but.

“Love you too Spider-Dork,” Sam tells him sincerely.

He’s glad he doesn’t have to wonder if Peter prefers this right now to those lonely nights talking to the cold sky. He knows by the way Peter smiles at him, the way he holds him and kisses him, and talks to him like they’ve never been apart.


End file.
